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By Tina Bradley, PHD
Trying to get the most out of your vacation budget without feeling deprived of any fun? The Outer Banks has a bounty of free and inexpensive activities to keep an active family entertained all week long. At the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site on the north end of Roanoke Island, you can enjoy two nature trails, the visitors center museum, an educational video, interpretive programs and a restored fort of the first English colony in America, all without an admission fee.
Downtown Manteo is perfectly situated for a day of activities on foot, and there are plenty of things to see that don’t require admission. On the waterfront boardwalk at the Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse, you can learn about the maritime history of the island as well as the keepers who manned the lighthouse in the mid-1800s. Just across from the lighthouse is the North Carolina Maritime Museum, where you can attend informative programs, see old photos and various types of small boats, and watch boat building firsthand. The waterfront is also a great place to have a picnic, horse around on the playground equipment, look at boats docked in the harbor, fish and go crabbing.
From the Manteo waterfront, a foot bridge leads to Roanoke Island Festival Park, where the 16th century ship replica, the Elizabeth II, is moored. There’s a charge to visit the ship, museum and Settlement Site ($8 adults, $5 for kids 6 and older), but there are other things you can do onsite without paying the fee. A boardwalk meanders around the northwest side of the parking lot through the woods and along a deep-water canal. A fossil yard is available where you can dig for shark’s teeth.
The Art Gallery and History Center Gallery are open for free, and at 2 pm Tuesday through Friday afternoons in July and early August there are musical performances in the Art Gallery. A picnic area and public restrooms are provided. From June 28 through August 6 at Festival Park, the “illuminations” Summer Performing Arts and Film Series offers arts performances Tuesday through Saturday nights at 8 pm. These are free, but $5 donations are requested.
On the northern Outer Banks, Currituck Heritage Park in Corolla is a good place to visit. At the Currituck Beach Lighthouse (there’s a $6 charge to climb the lighthouse but kids younger than 8 climb for free), it’s nice just to walk around the historic compound, where you’ll see the lighthouse exterior, restored Victorian keeper’s quarters, cistern and privy. Walk north of the lighthouse to see the historic buildings of old Corolla village, or south to The Whalehead Club lawn, where you can have a picnic on the grass, walk over the bridge, see the old boathouse, crab in the creek, walk along a boardwalk in the marsh, or check out the new Outer Banks Center for Wildlife Education (ask about the free wildlife education programs that are offered in the summer months). Parking and public restrooms are provided.
Wild horses can be seen north of Corolla in the four-wheel-drive area about a mile past the lighthouse. You can park your vehicle and walk along the sandy road to catch a peek of these magnificent creatures, but if you have a four-wheel-drive vehicle and can drive up the beach, you have a better chance of seeing them because you can cover more ground. Enjoy their beauty but be cautious of their unpredictable behavior. You are not allowed to feed or be within 50 feet of the horses, per local ordinances.
In Kill Devil Hills a great place to visit is the 1,400-acre maritime forest operated by The Nature Conservancy. From Highway 158, turn west on Ocean Acres Drive across from the McDonald’s and go about a mile to get to the parking lot of Nags Head Woods Preserve. There are over five miles of well-marked, selfguided trails that are open from dawn to dusk throughout the year. Trail maps are provided at the Visitor Center.
In Nags Head, Jockey’s Ridge State Park is totally fun and totally free. The entrance is located at milepost 12 on Highway 158. Free activities include ranger-led nature hikes, nature trails and a boardwalk and free interpretive programs, not to mention climbing the tallest sand dune on the East Coast. Also in Nags Head, Jennette’s Fishing Pier, located at milepost 16.5 on Highway 12, is owned by the North Carolina Aquarium Society. It offers educational programs and the largest collection of trophy mounts in the state, representing record catches such as red drum and hammerhead sharks.
The Bodie Island Lighthouse, off Highway 12 about eight miles south of the Highway 64 & Highway 158 junction, offers ranger-led programs on the history of the lighthouse and the Outer Banks. There is a boardwalk over the wetlands marsh, a 1.5-mile foot trail, and a canoe/kayak sound access.
Across the highway from the lighthouse is Coquina Beach, with generous parking, a bathhouse, public restrooms and picnic tables. The wreck of the Laura A. Barnes, a four masted schooner beached in 1921, can also be viewed there.
One of the best-kept secrets is the “catwalk” of the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge at Oregon Inlet along Highway 12. Parking is provided at the southern end of the bridge on the east side. Walk out on the catwalk and you’ll be treated to a fantastic view, especially at low tide. Pedestrians and anglers are welcome.
The Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge Visitors Center, about five miles south of the Bonner Bridge on Highway 12, offers bird-watching programs, nature trails and a cool Visitor Center with displays.
At the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, there is a great museum, a nature trail, a picnic area and public restrooms. There’s a fee to climb the lighthouse ($6 adults and $3 for children).
In Frisco, you should visit the Frisco Native American Museum, which has a really inexpensive admission fee ($2 per person, $1.50 for seniors or $5 for the whole family) and is a lot of fun.
At the ferry landing on the southern end of Hatteras Village is the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum, where you can learn about the shipwrecks off the coast of the Outer Banks. It’s only partially open at this point, so you can visit the exhibits for free.
Riding the Hatteras-Ocracoke Ferry is free. It takes about 40 minutes and is a picturesque way to see the various sound islands, flocks of pelicans and other coastal birds. There’s tons of stuff to do on Ocracoke Island, including visiting the pony pasture of Ocracoke’s formerly wild horses.
There are other sites that families will not want to miss, places like the Wright Brothers National Memorial, the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island, The Lost Colony and The Elizabethan Gardens, which all charge an admission fee. Rest assured that if you have your heart set on a particular attraction, the prices are very reasonable. Choose the attraction you really want to see, then do a lot of other free things to balance out that expense.
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